


I must be dreaming (or we're on to something)

by goldenheadfreckledheart



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Sleep talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-19 22:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14246955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenheadfreckledheart/pseuds/goldenheadfreckledheart
Summary: Bellamy is good at sleeping. Like, almost alarmingly so. A surface doesn’t even have to be vaguely comfortable for him to sleep on it. Floors, desks, uncomfortable wooden library chairs – Clarke’s seen him sleep on it all.-OR-Bellamy sleep-talks and Clarke records it.





	I must be dreaming (or we're on to something)

**Author's Note:**

> BFF Prompt: Bellamy saying hilarious things in his sleep and Clarke recording him.
> 
> I’m not sure how we got here, but somehow this contains Black Mirror - San Junipero spoilers. So beware of that.
> 
> Title from Frou Frou – Must Be Dreaming, which I think I first heard like 10 years ago in a Kingdom Hearts fanvid?
> 
> Wow, these notes are a ride. Enjoy!

Bellamy is good at sleeping. Like, almost alarmingly so. A surface doesn’t even have to be vaguely comfortable for him to sleep on it. Floors, desks, uncomfortable wooden library chairs – Clarke’s seen him sleep on it all.

“You’re just jealous,” is what he says when she voices these thoughts.

They’re at her place, nominally to study for separate midterms, but he’s been asleep at her kitchen table until about 10 minutes ago.

“I mean yeah, definitely. I’ve had mild insomnia since I was a kid.”

He blinks at her. “I didn’t know that.”

She shrugs. “It’s not a big deal, honestly. I just can’t take a quick power nap on the coffee bar between the afternoon and evening rush.”

“That was one time!”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re aware of your privilege, that’s all.”

Mostly, she thinks that he needs to get more  _ real _ sleep that isn’t just 20 naps throughout the day. Even if she kind of likes catching him on random surfaces at the coffee shop or the library.

She’d met Bellamy, on a surface level at least, when she started at the coffee shop three summers ago. And she thought he was…fine. He was outwardly grumpy and she, like most people she assumes, doesn’t tend to look for friendship with grumpy people. Even objectively attractive ones.

Then she started noticing him at the library. In particular, noticing that she’d see him studying as often as she’d spot him behind the checkout counter.

She asked about the library during their next overlapping shift at the coffee shop, just to be friendly, to which he responded with defensive passive aggression. It shouldn’t have been something that sparked friendship, but neither of them ever claimed to be great at social etiquette.

Her mom would be so proud.

Now she knows he works two jobs to save up for grad school – and partially to keep extra money saved in case his sister ever needs it. Not that he’s told Octavia that. 

She also knows that he never gets enough sleep as a result.

“I’m aware that I know how to relax and get rest at optimal times throughout the day,” he’s saying in the present.

Clarke scoffs. “Don’t act like it’s healthy. They’re definitely stress naps. You talk in your sleep.”

“How do you know I’m not just, like, San Junipero-ing?”

“Don’t you have to be close to death for that?”

He grins. “You’re always saying I’m closer to 80 than 30. Maybe I just took it to heart.”

She’s rolling her eyes before he’s even finished.

“You’re literally driving me to other dimensions to cope, Clarke.”

“Cute,” she says, which only makes him grin wider. “You really do talk in your sleep though. I’m going to record it next time and prove you’re stress-dreaming.”

“All I’m getting is that you want to take videos of me while I’m sleeping. Which makes me wonder if I should be flattered or creeped out.”

“Definitely creeped out,” she shoots back, wolfish.

*

She’s joking about the recording thing. Or at least she is until it’s two days later and he’s asleep at the two study carrels they managed to find in the 5 th floor stacks that weren’t already taken by other sleep deprived, midterm-stressed students.

His head is resting on his arm, on top of the peer-reviewed essay that he’s been revising. In his other hand, he’s still holding a pen, like he was leaning over the paper and writing notes in the margins until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.

The lurch of fondness in her chest shouldn’t take her by surprise.

He’s also mumbling under his breath, which is a snapchat opportunity that she’s not going to pass up. Life has offered her this opportunity--she’s not going to squander it. Most of it is unintelligible, but there are a couple of distinct words here and there. She definitely catches a slurred “deadline” and “conclusion” on video before sending it off to all their friends. After a second of consideration, she adds it to her story too. Everyone who follows her already knows Bellamy’s a nerd anyway. That basically encompasses her snapchat branding.

She breathes a laugh while watching it back, which she’s sure is going to wake him up, but he just stops mumbling for a second and smiles faintly. Her heart lurches again and, yeah, she should really be used to it by now.

The mumbles resume shortly and she gets over her increasingly inconvenient reactions to her best friend’s sleeping habits enough to take another snap. Her phone vibrates with a message from Raven and she sends that video too before swiping over to her messages.

**Raven:** FuCking nerd

**Raven:** can’t even sleep like a normal person

This time she actually laughs out loud and Bellamy stirs as she responds with a string of cry-laughing emojis.

“What?” he asks, voice scratchy and low.

“Nothing,” she says, still smiling. “Just proving to you and the world that you’re definitely a stress dreamer.”

He groans and rubs a hand over his eyes, mindful enough to drop the pen first.

“Oh good. As long as we’re being productive.”

“Super productive.” She nudges her foot against his. “Finish your paper so you can get some real sleep.”

His brows furrow, eyes still drowsy. “ _ You _ finish your practice exam so  _ you _ can get some real sleep,” he says, indignant.

The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes her crush on her best friend is more a fact of life than a new development. Like a familiar smell that reminds you of comfort and home. Honestly, she’s been doing a good job of ignoring it, but acknowledging it and letting it wash over her isn’t so bad either, especially in the wake of exam stress.

Is she stressed about being in love with her best friend? For sure. Is it as terrifying as the organic chemistry exam she might fail next week? Not remotely.

“Deal,” she says, turning back to her carrel and flipping open her bookmarked practice test.

A second later, his hand silently appears above the partition. She grins, reaching up to high-five him before they get back to work.

_ Dork. _

*

She’s closing the door to her apartment later that night when her phone buzzes with two somewhat puzzling texts from Bellamy.

**Bellamy:** Just watched your snaps

**Bellamy:** I feel like I should say sorry?

**Me:** LOL because I was right? I’ll take it.

**Me:** That was easier than I thought honestly. I figured you’d have an excuse ready.

**Me:** “It’s not what you think, Clarke. Let me tell you about my convoluted San Junipero universe to prove it to you”

**Bellamy:** Wow. You had that all ready huh

**Me:** Maybe

**Bellamy:** Seriously. I am sorry.

**Me:** For what? Are you drunk? You’re usually more drunk when you get this sentimental

**Me:** But seriously it’s fine. You were bound to be wrong at least once in your life.

**Bellamy:** You’re a menace

**Me:** At least I don’t talk in my sleep

**Me:** K I actually need to crash

**Me:** Come over at noon tomorrow, I’ll order donuts.

**Bellamy:** You’re clearly a paragon of health. See you then.

**Me:** <3

*

He comes over at noon, as planned, and proceeds to critique her lifestyle when she hands him a donut. It’s all so normal that she’s considering that she misread the awkwardness of last night’s messages. She feels a little guilty that she didn’t press him on it more. But maybe it really was nothing, given how normal he is this morning.

Then as they get settled in to start studying, he looks like he’s going to say something. When he doesn’t, she puts it down to her stress addled brain.

“You really don’t mind?” he finally asks, an hour in, after a heavy sigh she thought was school related. “Or are you just trying to be nice? Because I can handle it. Also, you’re never this nice and it’s kind of freaking me out.”

She knows he’s trying to get an indignant reaction out of her with the last comment, but there’s something off about the whole statement. Not that they  _ don’t _ constantly jab at each other, even if all animosity from the inception of their relationship has long since evaporated. 

It’s the first time she thinks something might actually be wrong. So she ignores his humor and turns to look at him, serious.

“You’re really concerned about this,” she says, soft. “Aren’t you? What are you worried that I mind? Nagging you to get more sleep? It’s basically a hobby at this point.” She smiles, teasing gently. “Seriously, though, walk me through it. What’s going on?”

His adam’s apple bobs. Then, as if realizing something--

“You didn’t watch it, did you?”

“Watch what?”

“The second video. I thought you were just letting me off easy when I texted you last night.”

She frowns. “Letting you off easy for what?”

“So you didn’t watch it.”

She’s still lost, but it seems like it matters to him, so she thinks back to the night before.

“I guess I was kind of distracted? Raven texted me. I guess I may not have watched it back before I sent it.”

“You should probably watch it,” he says, flat.

Which doesn’t clarify anything. She didn’t think there was anything—what? Scandalous? Embarrassing?—about it beyond the middle school level of embarrassment of taking videos of your crush. But she has way too little shame to care about that. It’s far from the most embarrassing thing she’s done around him in their three years of friendship.

She had received a string of eyeball emojis from Raven and a “wow, can’t believe this is actually happening” from Monty, which she took as a supportive, if somewhat bizarre, celebration of her victory of catching him sleep-talking on camera. Miller had just responded with “this seems about right” which is on par with his and Bellamy’s brand of belligerent affection. She’d also received a few generic comments of “Cute!” or “Aww” from people who viewed her story. Which were all appropriate. Bellamy’s cute. 

It was, admittedly, more of a response than she tends to get from her friends, but she’d put it down to her lack of expertise on social media. She knows that there are better times to post in terms of activity and views—she’s tried it, with varying degrees of success, when she posts her doodles and fanart on tumblr—so she figures she happened to send it at a time when most of her friends were online and active.

It wasn’t something she’d really thought was strange. Until now.

Tapping the app open, she swipes over to her story from last night.

The first video is as funny as before, honestly, and even the midst of her confusion it makes her lips twitch up. Then the second one starts playing and she zones back in, trying to figure out what Bellamy’s so worried about as he stands silent next to her.

“You’re freaking me out, you know,” she says. “This is weird, even for—”

The sound of her own name cuts her off and she refocuses on the video, where last night’s sleep-deprived Bellamy has just mumbled her name.

“Love…you…” the grainy image of her best friend says. It’s so low and muffled that she probably would have missed it if her name hadn’t caught her attention a second before. He says it again, fainter this time, before the video ends.

It’s not what she was expecting. Or it wouldn’t have been, if she’d known what she was expecting at all.

“Oh.”

She feels dizzy. Like her brain’s been turned upside down in her head and she doesn’t know which way is up.

“Yeah.”

She’s not sure when he stepped away from her, but she realizes all at once that’s not next to her anymore. 

For some reason, that’s enough to clear her head—to let the gravity of the situation sink in. To let herself realize what his anxiety means.

She breathes a laugh. “I’m never nice to you.”

“What?”

“You’re right, I’m never just  _ nice  _ to you. I’m not saying I’m a bad friend but  _ nice _ isn’t how we work. It’s always,” she shrugs, “you know, I’m going to take embarrassing videos of you to convince you to get more sleep.”

“Uhm,” he shakes his head a little, confused. “Yeah, I--you’re right, but, Clarke, I’m not sure what--”

She steps toward him and lets herself place a hand on his face, his short stubble scratching faintly against her fingertips as his words fade.

“You should have told me.”

He scoffs but doesn’t meet her eyes. “You think if I knew I was in love with you this whole time I would have been sleeping through half our interactions?”

She grins. “Not  _ half _ . Maybe a third.”

Finally, he smiles too. “That’s generous of you.”

Up close, she can see the faint circles under his eyes.

“You didn’t sleep last night did you?”

“You try sleeping when you accidentally confessed your love in a fucking snapchat video.”

“I could make a video too, if that would make you feel better.”

She’s expecting to roll his eyes, but apparently she wasn’t clear enough before, because his smile is wider now, no darkness around the edges. When he pushes her hair behind her ear, she finally lets the relief wash over her.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“You better,” she says, meeting him halfway.

*

He stays over at her place that night and it’s the best night’s rest she’s had in months. She’s not taking it as a sign that her insomnia is cured, but she’s not above taking it as a good omen for their relationship.

Not that she needs much more convincing.

**Author's Note:**

> I always struggle between making Bellamy cool™ or a lovesick dork™ and I don’t think I ever get the balance quite right, but whatchya gonna do.
> 
> I also tried out a higher dialogue-to-feelings-exposition ratio because I tend to skew pretty far the other way? Not sure if I succeeded ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Anyways, I think nap/sleep related fics might be my brand now. Further research needed.
> 
> (ALSO, re: pre-fic notes: I think the Kingdom Hearts fanvid was [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJMxH4SdFXo) but apparently there are a lot of KH fanvids using that same song so like…someone with more knowledge of Kingdom Hearts lore please explain this to me/tell me if you have the same visceral memory of this video+song combo)
> 
> If this wall of post-fic comments hasn't scared you off, I'm always around on [tumblr](http://www.goldendheadfreckledheart.tumblr.com).


End file.
